The path to becoming a full-fledged engineer is a tough one. It takes a serious commitment and years of persistence; you’ll need top marks in your courses. 

If you’re looking for a comprehensive PE review course, then you’ve probably already completed most of the hard work— which is great news! That being said, this is no time to rest on your laurels; it’s important to set yourself up for success as much as possible.

That’s where the best PE exam review courses come in. But how do you know which ones are the best?

Finding an exam prep course that works for you will help you prepare in a reasonable amount of time. And in order to help you save even more time, keep reading to see a detailed comparison of two top choices for engineering students: PPI2Pass vs. School of PE.

Overview of School of PE vs. PPI2Pass

Let’s start by introducing our opposing PE exam prep courses:

School of PE

School of PE Logo

Since 2004, School of PE has enlisted the help of professionals to teach essential concepts of engineering to the next generation of workers. This prep course stands out in a competitive field thanks to the hands-on experience of their instructors, who are required to have experience on the job and inside the classroom. According to many testimonials from former students, their approach to PE exam prep is effective and authentic to the real thing.

PPI2Pass

PPI2Pass boasts that they have one of the only “complete” prep course programs for your NCEES PE exam. Their full-coverage approach means that you have more time to focus on studying instead of wasting time tracking down additional resources. Additionally, they have multiple styles of course study available online to adjust to any student’s schedule, in addition to offering live lectures in various time zones.

School of PE vs. PPI2Pass: PE Prep Course Content

School of PE

School of PE offers two primary platforms for learning— Live Online and OnDemand. Enrolling in any of their PE courses will grant you access to a personally tailored student learning center. From here, you’re able to access class lecture videos and downloadable study materials. 

You can download class note pages written by your instructor, which are an excellent supplement for the 50+ hours of lectures. If you need more study material, School of PE also has textbooks on specific subjects— although you’ll have to pay extra for them.

One excellent aspect of School of PE is their Free Calculator Training. Instead of just providing you with a calculator, they also teach you how to use it in ways that will help you the most on your actual exam. They also offer a free refresher for basic engineering math that ensures you have a handle on this crucial exam skill.

Lastly, School of PE makes sure that you always have the support you need. Students who enroll in their PE courses have the ability to send questions directly to professors, purchase private tutoring sessions, and participate in their online forum.

One excellent aspect of School of PE is their Free Calculator Training. Instead of just providing you with the tools for success, they also teach you how to use them in ways that will help you the most on your actual exam.

PPI2Pass

PPI2Pass offers 3 different bundles for students to choose from. These options are divided into an OnDemand Online Prep bundle, a Learning Hub option, and a Complete Prep Package (which is essentially a combination of the first two). 

Typically, online prep courses for the PE civil exam only allow you to access recorded classes and a handful of selected study materials. However, this isn’t the case with PPI2Pass; even in their lowest level package, you can attend live online classes, participate in professor-led office hours, and post questions to fellow students via the online forums.

But if you’re interested in an even more involved review course, the Digital Learning Hub bundle takes things a step further than the OnDemand bundle. By taking a more hands-on approach to guiding you through self-study with specialized material, this will keep you on track all of the way until your exam date. This package also includes over 600 practice exam questions to make sure you’re test ready. 

Ultimately, the best feature with PPI2Pass’s Digital Learning Hub is the integrated progress reports. These help you actually see where you stand and help you identify areas that need improvement.

Lastly, the Quiz Generator that comes as a part of the PPI2PASS Complete bundle option is extremely helpful— as well as the extra practice books that include even more review content. These feel like premium options and not just an afterthought tacked on as a way to make an extra buck.

Ultimately, the best feature with PPI2Pass’s Digital Learning Hub is the integrated progress reports. These help you actually see where you stand and help you identify areas that need improvement.

Winner: School of PE

While both School of PE and PPI2Pass have similar options, School of PE has a larger volume of material. Whether you need video lectures, practice questions, or full exam sims, you’ll get more from them than you would from PPI2Pass. Both courses have plenty of well-made prep content, but you get more for your money with School of PE.

School of PE vs. PPI2Pass: Best PE Prep Course Guarantees

School of PE

When purchasing items from unfamiliar online vendors, a guarantee can be essential in order to inspire confidence in your decision. To that end, School of PE makes 2 pretty great guarantees to its students.

The first guarantee is free repeats if you don’t pass your exam. This means your enrollment essentially has no risk; even if you don’t do well on your exam, you can retake the course over and over until you pass. 

The second guarantee School of PE makes to its students is not something that will affect everyone, but it’s still worth mentioning in case it applies to you. If you find yourself waiting on state board approval or for your exam results to arrive before enrolling in a course, you’re covered. So long as you provide these items once they arrive, you can enroll in these courses early to make sure that you do not lose any precious time. Alternatively, you can still get your money back if you don’t receive approval or didn’t pass your required exam.

PPI2Pass

PPI2Pass offers a Passing Guarantee, though it’s limited and has a few specifics worth mentioning. With this guarantee, any student who fails their exam after taking the instructor-led online courses can then take the self-paced OnDemand course for free. This also includes some of their free self-study resources like calculator lessons.

Winner: School of PE

This one’s a pretty easy call. School of PE’s guarantees cover far more scenarios for students and allow you to take the same course over again should you fail. PPI2Pass has a guarantee that’s a little too stringent in comparison.

School of PE’s guarantees cover far more scenarios for students and allow you to take the same course over again should you fail. PPI2Pass has a guarantee that’s a little too stringent in comparison

School of PE vs. PPI2PASS: Pricing

School of PE

Courses from School of PE will run you in the ballpark of about $1000-$1500 depending on which course you’re looking to take. There’s also an option with most courses to bundle in the online-only option on top of the live courses for just a few hundred dollars extra— still keeping total costs under 2,000 dollars. Additionally, you can find discount codes and promotions to lower these costs even more.

PPI2Pass

PPI2Pass has a wider range of prices than School of PE. You can choose to pay a small weekly amount for their services or a flat fee of around $500. Depending on how much time you need to study at your own pace, you could prep at a lower overall cost as a result.

Winner: PPI2Pass

PPI2PASS offers more within its bundles than most, and it does so with lower prices. When the quantity is also quality, everybody wins.

PPI2Pass has a wider range of prices than School of PE. You can choose to pay a small weekly amount for their services or a flat fee of around $500. Depending on how much time you need to study at your own pace, you could prep at a lower overall cost as a result

Final Recommendation

Check out this infographic to see how both courses stack up!

Ultimately, School of PE is the better choice, but it’s a close call. PPI2Pass is still a good pick if you want a lot of review options on top of a responsive instructing staff and caringly crafted courses.

However, you can get far more material to work with if you choose School of PE instead. Additionally, this content is created by a very talented and highly qualified team of instructors; if you need to, you can even talk to them directly for extra help. So for all those reasons, it’s the winner in our little comparison!

Overall Winner:

School of PE Chart Logo

Kenneth W. Boyd is a former Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and the author of several of the popular "For Dummies" books published by John Wiley & Sons including 'CPA Exam for Dummies' and 'Cost Accounting for Dummies'.

Ken has gained a wealth of business experience through his previous employment as a CPA, Auditor, Tax Preparer and College Professor. Today, Ken continues to use those finely tuned skills to educate students as a professional writer and teacher.

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